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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26664058">What Grows on the Mountain?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion'>Freedoms_Champion</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bilbo Remains In Erebor, Battle of Five Armies - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Dwarf Courting, Engagement, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Thorin is a Softie, and works like crazy, the rebuilding of Erebor is going great, who gives a ton of gifts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:15:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,925</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26664058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo is already late for a meeting. The sheer size of Erebor, the fact that he hasn't learned his way around it even after three years, and the unaccountable failure of Thorin to wake him up has left him in a terrible hurry.</p>
<p>But Fili and Kili are on a mission that isn't worth their beards to fail and Bilbo doesn't have much of a chance of escaping them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>236</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Grows on the Mountain?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bilbo firmly clamped down his armload of scrolls to keep them from escaping. He wasn’t sure why, but the heavy parchment favored by the dwarves never wanted to sit quietly in his arms as he dashed from one end of the Mountain to the other. He was always dropping one or all of them, poking other people, and causing disruptions due to his scrolls’ unruliness.</p>
<p>Not today. Not when Bilbo was already late for a meeting with the farmers of Dale to discuss the new growing season.</p>
<p>He stumbled over a patch of stairs that were spaced too far apart for him and nearly fell off the staircase. He’d spoken to Thorin a thousand times about building rails, but he never listened.</p>
<p>“Bother!” Bilbo said loudly, tightening his grip to make sure the blasted scrolls didn’t take it into their heads to fly away while he wasn’t paying attention. “Of all the times for Thorin not to wake me. And if I ask him about it, I know what he’ll say! ‘I only wanted you to sleep well, my love,’” he grumbled in a rough approximation of Thorin’s voice. It hurt his throat, even after all the practice.</p>
<p>Balance regained, Bilbo hurried to the bottom of the stairs and turned left, hoping he was going in the right direction. He’d lived in Erebor for three years now and still hadn’t found a good method of mapping out the endless, massive halls. Usually, Thorin was there with him, or sent someone to be his guide.</p>
<p>Bilbo hadn’t seen Thorin all morning. As he puffed along the hallway, nodding to the various dwarves that bustled about, he wondered why that was. Even if Thorin had been busy with the myriad duties he had as King Under the Mountain, it wasn’t like him to be gone in the morning and fail to leave a note.</p>
<p>In fact, Thorin was scrupulous about leaving tokens of affection lying about: short, sweet notes, random shiny stones, or bits of carving. It was a Dwarven custom, Bilbo gathered, though the subtleties often escaped him. In turn, he snuck small treats out of the kitchens and flowers in from the lands they were reclaiming from Smaug’s destruction.</p>
<p>“Mr. Boggins! There you are; we’re going to be late!”</p>
<p>“Yes, I know I’m late, Kili,” Bilbo grumbled, in too much of a hurry to bother correcting his name.</p>
<p>“You have to come with us at once,” Fili added. He trailed behind his brother these days, thanks to the limp the Battle of the Five Armies had given him, but neither of the young dwarves had lost their energy and enthusiasm. They seized Bilbo by the arms and hauled him into a side tunnel. Bilbo tried to keep a grip on his scrolls, but they tumbled to the floor and the boys wouldn’t let him wiggle free and go back for them.</p>
<p>“Now, see here,” Bilbo said firmly, keeping a two-handed grip on his temper. “I need those notes for my meeting, and you have to take me back to get them! I’m only asking for a few minutes, then you may continue hauling me about like potatoes. Goodness knows I’ve asked you a thousand times not to, but that’s not the current point. I know how important my work is! There is no reason for you to treat me like this.”</p>
<p>“Bother your meeting. Thorin sent us to get you!” Kili said, shouldering his way through a crowd of dwarves to exit the Front Gate.</p>
<p>Bilbo blinked in the sudden sun and finally pulled free.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“We’ve already made things right with the Men of Dale,” Fili assured him, leaning on his staff for a moment to catch his breath. “Thorin asked us to bring you to him. He’s planned something.”</p>
<p>Bilbo wanted to ask more questions, but Kili set off again at a slightly slower pace, which was still too fast for Bilbo to gather his thoughts.</p>
<p>Of all the people in the Mountain, Thorin was the least likely to interrupt a day of work for something frivolous, he thought. No one worked harder to ensure life in Erebor was all it promised to be. Occasionally, Thorin worked too hard and Bilbo had to drag him away from it; it wasn’t like him to leave it or encourage anyone else to.</p>
<p>“It’s not much farther,” Fili said, breaking across Bilbo’s thoughts.</p>
<p>“Oh. Well, good. Does this really have to be a surprise?”</p>
<p>“It’s not worth our beards,” Kili answered. The brothers exchanged grimaces and Bilbo rolled his eyes. Kili in particular didn’t have much of a beard to worry about, but the threat still stood, and he let it be.</p>
<p>They took a moment to fuss over him, partially erasing the traces of their rapid pace. Fili paid special attention to the beads woven into the braid in front of Bilbo’s ear, making sure they sat smoothly and in plain view. This, too, was a Dwarven custom that Bilbo didn’t fully grasp. He knew that beads were a way of denoting the House and lineage of a dwarf and that his related to the Line of Durin because of his betrothal to Thorin. Every time he asked Thorin, he would only say there would be time to explain later and smile.</p>
<p>“Happy now?” he asked, growing tired of the fussing. Bilbo paid enough attention to his own appearance that he didn’t appreciate others messing it up.</p>
<p>“Yes, all right. Go down the path and you’ll find Thorin. Don’t keep him waiting!” Kili gave him a light push. Bilbo stumbled a few steps and shook his head, smiling fondly. He waved over his shoulder and struck off down the path.</p>
<p>This was a shoulder of the Mountain Bilbo hadn’t explored before. Well, that was true of most of the slopes of Lonely Mountain, because Bilbo had been too busy to spend much time out of doors. When he did go above ground, it was usually on trips to Dale to speak with Bard on business or to see the Elves, who still refused to come inside. Thranduil was a prickly neighbor at the best of times and there were still too many hard feelings from the Battle.</p>
<p>The spring sun felt nice on his back and Bilbo vowed he would carve out time somewhere in his schedule to come out and begin planning a garden for himself. He could adjust to living in a vast and busy city of Dwarves. Being hailed wherever he went as a hero and royalty was still unfamiliar, but he was getting there. Bilbo could even live with the endless array of strange customs he had to adhere to, but he couldn’t be comfortable until he had a garden.</p>
<p>It was the nature of a Hobbit, he had come to understand, and there was no reason for him to deny his nature when there was enough space to plant a few things.</p>
<p>Lost in thoughts of how to find flower seeds and vague ideas of what to plant, Bilbo didn’t notice Thorin standing in the path until they collided. As always, the sheer density of the Dwarf surprised him, even as Thorin grabbed his upper arms and kept him upright.</p>
<p>“Sorry, Thorin! I got lost thinking and forgot I was looking for you. Fili and Kili seemed to think it was worth their beards to get me here.”</p>
<p>“They took me seriously, I see,” Thorin said with a smile. He pressed a kiss to Bilbo’s forehead and took his hand. “Come and have a look.”</p>
<p>“Thorin, you’re being very mysterious. You left me sleeping, rescheduled a meeting, and now we’re tramping around the back of the Mountain. What do you have planned?”</p>
<p>Despite his annoyance and confusion, Bilbo could feel interest stirring. Blades of new grass tickled his feet, finally replacing the grey stones. Thorin didn’t answer and pulled him around an outcropping of rock.</p>
<p>At first, Bilbo couldn’t figure out what he was looking at. Blocks of stone in a buttery white he hadn’t seen before had been set in low walls against the side of the Mountain. Inside the sheltered square, grass grew around stone basins. Benches lined the inner walls, carved with intricate knots and tiny birds. A spring bubbled beside the gate, falling down a stony bed toward the valley below.</p>
<p>“I knew you would have plans of your own for what to do next, so we left it simple,” Thorin said. “But you have only to ask for any addition you can think of and it will be done. I know it isn’t Bag End-”</p>
<p>“Thorin, it’s perfect!” Bilbo cut him off. “I was just thinking I wanted a garden. You’ve gone and done all the boring parts for me!”</p>
<p>He rushed forward and took stock, unable to stop beaming. Already, his head was full of visions for what he could do here: the stone planters overflowing with bright flowers, trellised vines casting soft green shade overhead, and possibly even a bank of roses.</p>
<p>Behind him, Thorin laughed. “I’m glad you like it, Bilbo,” he said. “I have something more for you.”</p>
<p>“That’s too much,” Bilbo protested halfheartedly. He knew by now there was no stopping Thorin when he set his mind to something.</p>
<p>As expected, Thorin paid him no mind and spread his heavy fur cape on the ground. Sitting on it, he pulled a picnic basket from under a bench and began unpacking it. Bilbo joined him, never one to turn down the offer of food.</p>
<p>They ate in silence for a long while, watching the small birds who had been attracted by crumbs Bilbo scattered in the grass.</p>
<p>“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Thorin finally said. He gazed at Bilbo with a half-smile that softened the lines of care on his face.</p>
<p>“That there couldn’t be a luckier Hobbit in the world,” Bilbo replied. “I lived quietly in Bag End, with my maps and the expectations of everyone around me. Then thirteen dwarves and a Wizard came to my door and I set out on a Quest without so much as a pocket handkerchief. By all rights, I should have met my end somewhere in the Wilds, but here I am. A kingdom reclaimed and thriving, a dragon slain, and the best person alive to share my life with. What did I do to gain so much?”</p>
<p>“You luck, Master Burglar, came when you agreed to be our lucky fourteenth companion,” Thorin said with a chuckle. It was his usual rebuttal. “As for everything you have now, it is nothing more than my debt to you. After the dragon-sickness took me, I had no hope. It was you who freed me and brought me back to myself. I count myself lucky that you forgave me and accepted my love.”</p>
<p>“Of course I did. It would have been too painful to go back home without trying to tell you how I felt.” It still gave Bilbo a painful twinge to remember how Thorin had looked after the battle. The scars were fading by now, but he had looked close to death when Bilbo had gone to see him.</p>
<p>Thorin pulled him close in a hug, dispelling the dark memories. “Tell me about your plans for this garden,” he said quietly, deep voice rumbling through Bilbo.</p>
<p>“First of all, I have to learn what kind of flowers grow best here. I want colorful ones, as many as possible. After that, it’ll be a matter of setting up some trellises and growing vines over them…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi there! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!</p>
<p>Comments are welcome and worth more than the treasure of Erebor. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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